Two new COVID-19 cases in Andamans; tally at 5,024

Port Blair: Two more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, taking the tally in the Union Territory to 5,024, a health department official said on Friday.

The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.

The death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.

One person was cured of the disease on Thursday, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,953, the official said.

The Union Territory now has nine active cases.

Altogether, 7,779 health and frontline workers have been vaccinated, he said.

The overall COVID situation is under control in the archipelago as the local administration has been strict to ensure that health safety protocols are followed to contain the spread of the disease, the official said.

People arriving here by flights or reaching by ships from Kolkata or Chennai are mandatorily required to show a negative coronavirus report before the authorities allow them to enter the islands.

The Andaman and Nicobar administration has conducted 2,74,849 sample tests for COVID-19 so far, and the positivity rate stands at 1.83 per cent, he added.